Greek terrorist arrested after Athens shootout

Greek police have arrested one of the country’s most wanted men, a fugitive convicted of terrorism, after a shootout in the central tourist district of Athens that left four people wounded.

Police said the wounded included Nikos Maziotis, who has been on the run along with his wife, Panagiota Roupa, since 2012 following their release from jail after serving the maximum 18 months in pre-trial detention.

Maziotis is being treated in a central Athens hospital under heavy police guard following the shootout in the crowded Monastiraki district.

Maziotis and Roupa were convicted in absentia last year and sentenced to 25 years for participation in Revolutionary Struggle, a group active between 2003 and 2009 and best known for firing a rocket-propelled grenade into the US embassy and bombing the Athens stock exchange. Neither of the attacks caused injuries.

In January, authorities announced €1m (£790,000) rewards for information leading to each of their arrests.

Police said the others wounded were a police officer and two bystanders, both foreign tourists. Witnesses at the scene said an Australian tourist was lightly wounded in the leg.